Have a girl? Know a girl? Care about a girl? If so, this is a blog where you can find out about the world of girls at all ages and stages of life. Host Cheryl Dellasega, Ph.D., is an award winning author, Professor in the Penn State College of Medicine, and founder of Club and Camp Ophelia, two programs to help girls develop healthy relationship skills.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

People shouldn't make fun of people who have epilepsy. It's not right at all. They are just the same as everybody else but have a medical condition. Someone made fun of me junior year and they thought it was a disease but it's just a medical condition. I had my first seizure in 7th grade and I didn't even know what it was. Then I had another one in 8th grade. But in the summer of 2009, I got diagnosed with epilepsy.osed with epilepsy. Pretty soon I'll have epilepsy for 3 years. It's not fun being diagnosed with this but I still have to go through it though. People shouldn't judge people who have people who have epilepsy, it can really hurt their feelings. So just understand what they are going through and including me too. Thats why I'm doing my graduation pr Pretty soon I’ll have epilepsy for three years. It’s not fun being diagnosed with this, but I still have to go through it though. People shouldn’t judge people who have epilepsy. It can really hurt their feelings. So just understand what they are going through and including me too. That’s why I’m doing my graduation project on epilepsy.
Olivia, age 18

Monday, October 14, 2013

The emails are already coming in to my mailbox. School has been in session long enough for “relationship issues” to surface, and both parents and teachers are looking for help with bullying and relational aggression.

So often, the situation gets polarized into the victim, who receives support and sympathy AFTER the bullying has occurred. If the problem occurs on school time, the bully is often punished. Especially egregious situation might prompt a vigil, a t-shirt with a catchy slogan, a wrist band, or a school assembly program. These are what I call band aid approaches because they are one time programs that may increase awareness, but have little long term impact.

The National Association for School Psychologists offer an excellent resource for any adult who cares about children and their relationships. They describe important attributes to encourage in youth, and make the point that prevention is the most effective strategy.

That’s why relationship skills need to be started at a young age. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction describes the effectiveness of their developmentally based approach to bullying prevention, which offers programs to students from elementary school through middle school. While most of their content relates to aggression, even young children respond positively.

A focus on relationship skills is an important part of bullying prevention. The Polk School District in Michigan has developed an excellent resource for teaching relationship skills to students of all ages. Take a look and you’ll see that learning to communicate, making and keeping friends, and collaborating with others are abilities that not only reduce the likelihood of aggression but help children form relationships that help rather than hurt.

Welcome

Have a girl? Know a girl? Care about a girl? If so, this is a blog where you can find out about the world of girls at all ages and stages of life. Host Cheryl Dellasega, Ph.D., is an award winning author, Professor in the Penn State College of Medicine, and founder of Club and Camp Ophelia, two programs to help girls develop healthy relationship skills. She has created a patch program and Healthy Relationships curriculum for the GSUSA, consulted on Mattel Corporation's "We Believe in Girls" campaign, been a frequent guest on national television and radio stations, and is frequently cited in a variety of print media. Most importantly, she has a diverse group of girls she hangs out with in both her professional and personal life!